Yesterday's Supreme Court Orders

Yesterday the NC Supreme Court released orders on petitions. The Court granted discretionary review in four cases: two criminal, two civil. One civil case, Blankenship v. Barlett, arises from a Court of Appeals decision holding that the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote” doesn't apply to the election of judges. The lawsuit challenges the manner in which Superior Court districts have been drawn, alleging that the Constitution requires that the districts must be proportional in terms of population. The other civil case is an insurance case involving the duty to defend, Harleysville Mut. Ins. Co. v. Buzz Off Insect Shield, L.L.C.. (For our earlier post on that case, see here.) The petitioner had an appeal as of right based on Judge Geer's dissent, and yesterday the Supreme Court granted a PDR on an additional issue not raised by Judge Geer's dissent (involving the application of the policy's "prior publication exclusion" to false advertising claims; the exclusion applies to "personal and advertising injury" if the publication occurred before the policy commenced).